Claim: A viral WhatsApp post calls for applications from interested citizens to conduct the June 24, 2023, multi-tier polls. The message is alleged to emanate from the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone.
Verdict: DUBAWA has subjected the notice to verification and discovered that the release is false. The link provided in the post is also fake.
Full Text
A notice of application went viral on social media, particularly on WhatsApp groups, between Thursday, 31 May, and Friday, 1 June 2023. The notice called for applications from the interested public to apply for the various positions at the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) via a link provided. The link, https://ec.gov.sl.programagency.info/, appeared to have emanated from the country’s electoral body and sought applications from interested persons to work for ECSL in the forthcoming elections.
The notice, in part, reads:
“ELECTORAL COMMISSION FOR SIERRA LEONE 2023 AD HOC STAFF RECRUITMENT
“The Electoral Commission For Sierra Leone is recruiting ad hoc staff for the coming general elections. Interested Applicants should click the link below to apply now. Apply Here: https://ec.gov.sl.programagency.info/.”
The notice has generated much interest from the public, mostly young graduates who are job hunting. But is this application genuine? DUBAWA decided to investigate the authenticity of the notice.
Verification
The very first point of interest for DUBAWA was to go to the official website and official Facebook page of ECSL on Friday, 1 June 2023 but found nothing in connection with the purported job application notice, which had gone viral on various WhatsApp pages.
DUBAWA then decided to follow the link to ascertain the notice’s authenticity.
DUBAWA finds as follows after clicking on the link:
- The link took the researcher to a certain website with numerous processes to go through;
- It then requested that the researcher should respond to a few questions for him to be selected to be a part of the team;
- By clicking the link alone, without filling out any form, the researcher received a notice informing him that he had been selected from dozens of applicants who had been through a similar process;
- After answering three questions therein, the researcher was requested to ‘submit’ his application for further processing;
- Then the researcher was asked to share the notice with five WhatsApp groups and/or 15 friends in his phone contacts. This, more than any other, raised suspicion about the authenticity of the application process.
DUBAWA has provided the screenshots grid below to put imagery to the findings upon clicking the ‘click bait’ link.
Just when DUBAWA concluded its internal investigation, a counter-release from The Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) was issued denouncing the content of the earlier job application notice – evidenced below:
The ECSL vehemently dissociated itself from the claim, noting that citizens must be aware of the type of websites they follow. The notice from the ECSL disclosed that if anyone wants to apply to work for ECSL during the forthcoming elections, that person must visit the correct website of ECSL– which is given as: https://ecslonlinejob.ec.gov.sl.
To equally ascertain whether the counter mail did come from ECSL, DUBAWA decided to contact Christopher Jones – a member of the ECSL Communications and Public Outreach team, on Friday, 1 June 2023, via his WhatsApp line. He affirmed that the initial notice is fake, adding that the citizenry should ignore it and follow the link provided in the counter-notice.
Conclusion
Based on DUBAWA’s findings, it is clear that the viral notice of job opportunities claiming to have come from ECSL is false!
